Eight Wildcats to Participate in NBA Las Vegas Summer League

LAS VEGAS – As has become the norm what seems like every summer, the Kentucky men’s basketball team will be well represented in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Eight former UK players will suit up in the 24-team league, which will feature 67 games from Friday to July 18. Kentucky’s representation includes:

ESPN will present all 67 games from Las Vegas across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU and WatchESPN. NBA TV will televise 30 of the games. 

Both Trey Lyles (Utah Jazz) and Young (Boston Celtics) played in the summer league in Utah, which wrapped up Thursday night. Aaron Harrison (Charlotte Hornets), Dakari Johnson (Oklahoma City Thunder), Alex Poythress (Orlando Magic Blue) and Marquis Teague (Dallas Mavericks) have been featured in the league in Orlando, which concludes Friday. 

Heading into Friday’s games, Aaron Harrison (14.3 points per game) and Johnson (12.5 ppg) were among the Orlando league leaders in scoring. Johnson was ranked third (9.0 rebounds per game) in rebounding.

In the Utah league, Lyles finished fourth in scoring (20.3 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.3 rpg). Young averaged 11.7 points per game.

The NBA summer leagues are an important time of the year for professional players to either earn a free-agent contract, solidify their spot on an NBA roster, or develop and earn additional playing time for the NBA regular season. 

UK had another three players (Murray, Labissiere and Ulis) selected in the 2016 NBA Draft, boosting the Wildcats’ total to 28 players drafted in the seven-year John Caliapri era. 

Fans can access box scores, game recaps and cumulative statistics at NBA.com/summerleague.